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Tag Archives: Best Reads of the Year

Happy New Year, everyone! In 2016, I read a total of 65 books, which is about 59 less than I read in 2015. Out of those books, the majority of them were paranormal romance and about 34 were published in 2016 (that’s more than the 22 new releases I read in 2015).

I hope the new year is going well for everyone! Since I actually reviewed all the books I read in December, I’m skipping the monthly wrap-up post and doing this list of my favorites for 2015 instead.

Books

In 2015, I read a total of 134 books, which is about 75 less than I read in 2014. Out of those books, the majority of them were erotica (I blame you Kindle Unlimited!) and about 22 were published in 2015 (that’s less than the 64 new releases I read in 2014).

Overall, this was a weird reading year for me. I started out 2015 strong, but things tapered off in March. Around that time I started a new job and was going through a major relocation. So, I had a huge gap where I didn’t read anything that was over 100 pages in the spring and summer. What I read during that time mostly consisted of back issues of Time magazine and random Kindle Unlimited short stories that I could whip through in one sitting. This made it a little difficult to create a favorites list for last year.

Where what I read came from in 2015:

Bought and Read Immediately: 49

Kindle Unlimited: 53

ARC: 13

Library: 9

TBR Pile: 9 (more than I thought!)

Keeper Shelf/Re-Read: 1

Author Breakdown by Gender: 90% female, 10% male (this is actually the most male authors I’ve read in a year since probably 2008)

Happy New Year, everyone!

In 2014, I read a total of 209 books! This was a major increase from 2013 when I read 94 books. Out of the 209 books, 64 were published in 2014. Below is my list of best books I read, which were published in 2014.

The final book in Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford series and something I had been anticipating for four long years. In Wild Justice, Nadia finds herself face to face with the killer of her young cousin and is forced to confront her memories of the past. This was an excellent conclusion to the series and well worth the wait.

Magic Rises is Kate Daniels book number six and one of the best new additions to the series. It brings a breath of fresh air to the books as we get a change in scenery when Kate and crew venture overseas. There’s also an escalation of stakes in Magic Rises as things with Roland, Kate’s father, start to ramp-up.

I’m going to count Joss Whedon’s entire Astonishing X-men run as one. I’m a huge fan of Whedon and he did not disappoint with his contribution to the franchise. Astonishing X-men features a smaller cast of the X-men and a more centralized main plot than is typical here. This really worked for me as it allowed for some interesting character development for Kitty Pryde, Scott Summers, and Emma Frost.

The Martian has been getting a lot of positive hype lately and its fairly well deserved. Stranded on Mars after an aborted mission, astronaut Mark Watney faces a seemingly impossible survival scenario. This was an excellent hard sci-fi book with some great humor interjected throughout.

After stumbling across a traveling library the Queen slowly becomes an avid reader. This follows her personal transformation as the books she reads start to modify her perception of the world she lives in. If you’re in the mood for a quick and engaging read, I would highly recommend The Uncommon Reader.

Guardian Demon is another book on the list that is a series finale. In this one, Lucifer has finally figured out a way to break through the barrier between hell and Earth. The battle that all these books have slowly been building up to finally happens here and its just as intense as promised. Highly recommend reading this series from the beginning.

The Elder Races series can sometimes be a hit or miss for me. Night’s Honor was a definite hit. Tess lands a job with Xavier del Torro in the hopes that the possibility of starting a war with the vampire demesne will be enough to keep her former Djinn employer at bay.

Another series that I’m counting as one since they’re a quick read. Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire’s Waltz is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It’s a fluffy manga very loosely based off of Alice in Wonderland.

Heart of Obsidian is book 12 in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series and one I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the story. Sahara has spent the last seven years locked away and with no real memories of who she is. This follows her as she works to regain her memories and overcome what was done to her.

I have a strong affection for paranormal stories and roadtrip books, so this one was right up my alley. How to Run with a Naked Werewolf was a funny light read that loved to death. After witnessing a shooting Anna Moder once again finds herself on the run from something, but this time she has the unwanted company of Caleb Graham.